Mistakes Best to Avoid When Buying a Used Car

Often we are likely to be more careful when buying a new car than when buying a used car/vehicle. This is probably because the money we need to spend when buying a brand new vehicle is usually much higher can the amount we need spend when purchasing a used second hand car.

However, in reality is that one should be equally careful when purchasing any car or vehicle. Often there are certain mistakes that should be avoided when buying a used car, here we look at some of the most common pitfalls and suggest some useful ideas and information if you are planning to purchase used a vehicle.

Don’t forget to check the vehicle history report:

If you visit the likes of one of the local Ford dealerships or buy a second hand vehicle privately, then obtaining a vehicle history report (or a vehicle HPI check) is a must. As this is the only way to know whether the car you are planning to buy / take home has encountered a serious accident or has an outstanding higher purchase credit on the car.

That’s not all, the report will also offer you information like: whether the car served as a rental vehicle, vehicle mileage, etc. If you are looking at purchasing a car from a car dealership, it will most likely make a vehicle history report on all the cars they are selling at the garage dealership. However, you cannot assume that to happen at every garage or especially when buying a car privately. So you may have got a vehicle check done yourself and there are many companies offering this type of facility. So why not conduct a simple search for company offering HPI data checks on your favourite search engine.

Don’t ignore the vehicle inspection report or the current MOT certificate: if you are purchasing the vehicle from a dealership, ask them to show you its vehicle inspection report; it is a report prepared by expert auto mechanics. If the dealer fails to show you to the report, then you can back out of the transaction or simply bring along your own auto mechanic to inspect the vehicle for defects.

Also always check the current MOT certificate, this will also be an indicator if there are any pending issues, as they will be listed as advisory issues and will need to be rectified before the vehicles next MOT.

Make sure you check out the vehicles fuel consumption & statistics: The number of buyers who ignore this point fairly high and will most likely wish they did a little more research before their vehicle purchase. It is also wise not to ignore the fuel consumption of a second hand car you are planning to purchase, as it this one of the primary deciding factors for how cost effective the vehicle would be for you on a weekly / monthly basis, along with servicing and the other running costs.

-Thanks a lot for reading my article “Mistakes Best to Avoid When Buying a Used Car”. Hope read and enjoy!